Big Setback For Mamata Banerjee, Top Court Junks Plea In Teacher Scam Case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a West Bengal government petition seeking review of its April 7 verdict in the alleged cash-for-jobs scam involving the state's School Service Commission.

The top court had upheld a Calcutta High Court order cancelling the appointments of over 25,000 staff, both teaching and non-teaching, after what was found to be a fraudulent process.

In a big setback to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee - on a topic the BJP will use to attack the Trinamool before next year's election - the Supreme Court also came down heavily on Bengal government.

"Adverse remarks made against the authorities concerned - wholly and solely responsible for this imbroglio - that adversely affected the lives of thousands of candidates, both tainted and untainted, were fully warranted and justified," the top court said this afternoon.

"Invalidation of untainted appointments, no doubt, would lead to heartburn and anguish... which the court was fully conscious of... but protecting the purity of the selection process is paramount and necessarily has to be given the highest priority," the court said.

The High Court had earlier cancelled the selection process for 2016; this meant 25,753 men and women were fired - they had been illegally recruited, the court ruled - and told to return their salaries with 12 per cent interest. A year later the Supreme Court upheld that order; the top court ruled the entire selection process had been "vitiated by manipulation and fraud".

READ | Big Blow To Trinamool, 25,000 Teachers Fired, Told To Return Salary

The cancellation led to a massive political row in Bengal, with Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and the opposition, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, at each other's throats.

Ms Banerjee - under fire with a critical Assembly election next year - said she would protect the jobs of 'deserving' teachers and pointed to similar scandals in BJP-ruled states.

"In the Vyapam case in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, so many people were killed. They have not got justice till today. In NEET, many allegations surfaced. The Supreme Court did not cancel the examination. Why is Bengal being targeted? We want to know. You are scared of Bengal's talent," she told a gathering of sacked teachers at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium.

READ | "Not While I'm Alive": Mamata Banerjee On Sacking Of Teachers

In the weeks and months that followed disgruntled 'tainted' teachers held furious protests in Kolkata, and clashed with police. By May-end Ms Banerjee acknowledged the court's order would be followed; she said her government would open a new round of applications.

READ | Fresh Teacher Recruitment Will Start As Per Top Court Order: Mamata

She said 44,203 vacant posts would be filled and that age-related qualifying criteria would be relaxed for those who had lost their jobs earlier. However, many of those individuals have protested at being asked to sit for the qualifying exams again. "We will not sit for a fresh exam. Our demand is clear..."

With input from agencies

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